Occupational health and safety news and guidance

Following a fatal fire on 29 April 2011 at 546 Coldhams Lane, the
landlord Darius Valiulis of Neville Road Cambridge, was
prosecuted by Cambridge City Council for
breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations
2006, and
fined a total of £10,000 plus £6,000 costs.

At the time of the fire, the house was occupied by seven individuals,
including three in one room. The fire precautions
in the property were described by the Fire
Service as “woefully inadequate”, consisting of a single smoke detector
on the
first floor landing. There were no fire
doors, and the doors to the bedrooms were key operated, which did not
allow easy emergency
exit.

The ceiling of the room where the fire started was covered with polystyrene tiles. These are highly flammable, and give
off toxic fumes on combustion. Their use is not recommended in HMOs.

At the initial hearing in October 2011, Mr Valiulis pleaded not
guilty to five out of eight charges. The three charges
to which he pleaded guilty were failing to
provide a gas safety record, failing to provide fire exit signs and
failing to
provide written notice of the manager’s name
and contact details.

After a series of postponements, the case
was heard on 13 March 2012, at which time Mr Valiulis offered no defence
to the
charges. He was subsequently found guilty of
the remaining five charges, and fined £2,000 on each count. The
council’s costs
of £6,000 were awarded against him.